Escalante: Marañon must be disappointed
By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Members of local political coalition, the United Negros Alliance (UNegA), expressed disappointment after learning two members had allegedly “jumped ship” after failing to support San Enrique Mayor Jerson Tubillara in the presidential election for the Negros Occidental chapter of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines.
Valladolid Mayor Enrique Miravalles, a member of rival coalition Love Negros, beat Tubillara by a close 10-9 vote.
Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante, Jr., who serves as executive secretary of UNegA, said party president, Negros Occidental VIce Governor Jeffrey Ferrer, conducted a  loyalty check among party members earlier this month, where all partymembers except for two mayors from southern Negros were in attendance.
When pressed for reaction from former Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr., an UNegA official, who was unable to attend the meeting, the mayor said he is likely “disappointed.”
“The former governor risks his life by riding in four-seater planes [during] his regular visits to this part of the province,” Escalante explained. “He must be disappointed.”
Prior to this year’s gubernatorial elections, the two factions announced a merger. With Escalante earlier affirming the merger between local political coalitions will hold, noting, “As long as the merger holds, harmony will prevail.”
Earlier this year, after Silay City Councilor Ryan Gamboa was elected Negros Occidental Philippine Councilors League president, earning him a seat on the Negros Occidental Provincial Board, the win gave Love Negros a majority on the local legislative body,
However, last June, Negros Occidental Provincial Board Member Manuel Frederick Ko affirmed “there are no parties,” citing the merger between the two local political coalitions.
“We do not have a majority or a minority [on] the provincial board,” he noted./DGB, WDJ